Band Leader:

Erling "Choco" Garcia – Band Leader, Tenor Saxophone
Originally from the Dominican Republic, "Choco" has been playing the tenor saxophone for many years; he started Alabaldo in February 2009.

Other band Members, in alphabetical order by last name:

Ulises Durán – Singer
Ulises came to Calgary from El Salvador in 1991 with his wife and four children. He has been singing and composing for many years and recently recorded his own Christian music CD.

 

Juan Esteban Estrada – Drum Set
New to Calgary, Juan Esteban recently moved to Calgary from Colombia where he studied classical percussion and performance, as well as traditional jazz styles.

 

Yarlie Garcia – Singer

 

 

Hazel Labelle – Backup Vocals

 

 

Arturo Mendoza – Singer

 

 

Daniel Menjivar – Arranger
Daniel is a respected arranger who has worked on numerous projects across the globe.  He specializes in arranging for Latin Jazz and dance genres. For more information on Daniel, please visit DanielMenjivar.com

 

 

Rosibel Morales – Backup Vocals

 

 

Hector Murillo – Congas

 

 

Mario Ochoa – Bass
Mario comes from a family of Venezuelan musicians and has been playing music for about 30 years, since the age of 8. For 15 years Mario was fully involved in music playing for the most famous Venezuelan country music players. Mario moved to Canada with his family in 2004 and has been since involved with the local musical movement playing bass guitar.

Andre Patterson – Trombone

 

 

Martin and Handy Ríos – Lead Vocals

 

 

Ariana Rodríguez – Piano, Musical Director
Ariana was born into a professional musical family in Cuba. She started her academic piano instruction and musical education at the age of seven and now teaches at Mount Royal College as well as at her own studio.

Marcelo Shoenfeldt – Timbales, Bongos, Campana, Güira
Originally from Chile, Marcelo has been playing percussion with various salsa and Latin bands in Alberta over the last decade.

 

Kevin Waites – Second Trumpet

 

 

Douglas Zacharias – Lead Trumpet